Gasoline Soup

It was the summer of 1972, the summer of a global gas shortage. Gas lines in the US went around the block, and one had to wait for three hours to get to the pump.

In Kinshasa, gas lines went for a mile down the road. The missionaries waited in line for two days and two nights to get gas. The men took turns waiting in the car in the gas line, and the hostel kids took them food at mealtime.

Eudene and Ruth preparing for a station Christmas dinner at our dining table (we didn’t serve gasoline soup this time)

When I went home to Kalonda for summer vacation, Uncle Sam was preparing to take the three day road trip in the big truck to the nearest city, Kananga, to shop for food and supplies. Mom carefully put together our food order, knowing that we would be charged not only for the food, but for the transport and gas expenses as well…which were extremely high because of the gas shortage. Uncle Sam left with everyone’s order and a couple of Congolese men to help.

Ten days later Sam and his crew returned. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that Sam was able to purchase nearly everything on our list. The bad news was that a barrel of gas in the back of the truck had tipped over on the bumpy ride, and spilled gas all over our food. This wasn’t a problem if the food was canned food. But it was a problem for the packaged soups…of which Mom had ordered a very large quantity.

That summer we ate a lot of gasoline soup for lunch. At 12:00 noon, sharp, Mom came home from working at the Maternity Ward and Dad came home from the Literature Office. I would put down my sewing project, or step away from the piano, and the three of us would gather at the lunch table. The smell of gasoline-tomato or gasoline-chicken soup wafted through the house. Mom and Dad sipped the soup as though nothing was amiss. I complained a couple of times, but Dad said, “We can’t throw all this soup away, because we paid so much to get it here from Kananga. It would be such a waste of money if we just threw it away!”

So we continued to eat gasoline soup every day that summer until it was finally all gone…We didn’t waste a single package!